Vilnius 700

In 1863, the military hospital (the military ward of St. James’s Hospital) in this building was used for the imprisonment and interrogation of the wounded leader of the uprising, Zygmunt Sierakowski. After the uprising in 1864, the Vilnius Junker Infantry School was established here, which operated until 1915. Today, the building is home to Vilnius University. Note the doors – miraculously preserved, restored, and still in use today. 

This colony was built in 1897 on the initiative of Józef Montwiłł, a public figure, philanthropist, and director of the Land Bank. Montwiłł owned a number of land plots in Vilnius, and in 1896-1913, he initiated the construction of five colonies in the city. In the area between the present M. K. Čiurlionio, Jovaros and J. Basanavičiaus Streets, ten houses were built, and each house owner had a 10-12-are plot of land (one ‘are’ is equivalent to 100 m2) with a garden. In Europe, such settlements were built for manual labourers, while in Vilnius, they were intended for office workers, engineers, and artists. It was in this colony that Montwiłł himself and several other employees of the Vilnius Land Bank built their houses. His favourite architects, August Klein and Wldysław Stypułkowski, helped him to realise his ideas for such colonies.

You’d never guess that where you are now was the very edge of town in the 19th century. A few hundred metres away, there was a guardhouse and white pillars marking the beginning of the city. The building at J. Basanavičiaus g. 53 was once a very popular tavern in the Pohulianka district, which was known for being an area where people went to let off steam and relax. In his memoirs of 1830-1835, the Vilnius historian J. I. Kraszewski described it vividly: “Whoever could breathe more freely, laugh at the top of his lungs, talk loudly, and breathe freely, would go to Pohulanka”.

In 2019, a memorial to architect Antoni Wiwulski was unveiled in front of Vytenio g. 6 – a bronze model replica of the impressive but unfinished Church of the Holy Sacred Heart, which he designed himself. The sculptor was Tadas Gutauskas. Unfortunately, Wiwulski’s idea was not destined to come true. The construction of the church was hampered by the architect’s early death (1919), the two world wars, a lack of finances, and finally, the destruction of churches during the Soviet era. Although services were held in the unfinished church, it was decided to convert it into the Construction Workers’ Cultural Palace. Today, the building’s purpose is betrayed by its position in relation to the streets, with its façade facing directly onto the crossroads.

This ten-legged rocking chair with the name ‘KU-DIR-KA’ is no joke – it’s a true icon of Lithuanian design created by Paulius Vitkauskas in 2006 and recognised by professionals all over the world. This piece of furniture has travelled to international design exhibitions in London, Paris, New York, and Tokyo and has been featured in leading international design and interior magazines. Maybe it is not for nothing that the chair was named the ‘herald of Lithuania’

In the 1950s, population growth in Vilnius was a cause for concern. In 1959, 55,000 people in Vilnius had a housing shortage. In the same year, 1959, the area of large-panel blocks of flats in Vilnius was built in the area between T. Ševčenkos, Vytenio, Naugarduko and Birželio 23-iosios Streets. Some of the flats were intended for the owners of the wooden huts that stood here, who had to say goodbye to their homes. The streets that used to be here (Žvirblių, Savosios, Ožku) are no longer on the maps either.

The Orthodox Church of St Constantine and St Michael in Vilnius was built in 1913 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. For this reason, it is often referred to simply as the Romanov Orthodox Church. It is one of the youngest Orthodox churches in Vilnius. The temple was designed by the architect Vladimir Dmitrievitch Adamovich. He not only interpreted the style of the old Orthodox churches in a tasteful way but also embellished it with elements of the Modern Style (Art Nouveau) popular at the time. In the main and side entrances of the church, you can see how fern-like plant motifs are subtly intertwined with the religious symbolism of the Orthodox faith.

In 1915, when the Germans occupied the city, the Orthodox Church was used to imprison those who did not observe the curfew. 

During the 2014 reconstruction, the green-painted domes of the temple were returned to their original golden colour.

The Kazimieras Žoromskis Museum is an original 1995 work of Lithuanian postmodernism. The post-modernist building is connected to the neo-Gothic caretaker’s cottage, which is the only survivor of the splendid late 19th-century villa ensemble that used to be here. The painter Kazimieras Leonardas Žoromskis lived and worked in this house from 1995 to 2004. Žoromskis liked to paint in natural light, which is why his studio has a huge 30-degree sloping window, clearly visible from K. Kalinausko Street. 

Today, the museum exhibits unique works in the optical impressionist style of K. Žoromskis.

The Frank Zappa Monument was erected in 1995, two years after the death of the American rock legend. Although Zappa had nothing to do with Lithuania and never visited the country, he had a loyal fan club here. Many Lithuanians admired Zappa’s personality and his anti-state songs. This monument was created on the initiative of photographer Sauliaus Paukštys. The sculpture is by Konstantinas Bogdanas. In 2010, a copy of the sculpture was donated to Zappa’s hometown Baltimore.

The Vilnius Evangelical Reformed Church was built in 1830 in the Late Classical style. The architect of the building was Karol Podczaszynski, whose works include the current Presidential Palace, the Tuskulėnai and Jašiūnai mansions. During the Soviet era, the parish was abolished, and a cinema, ‘Kronika’, was opened in the church, showing documentaries. During the reconstruction, the organ and chandeliers were removed from the church, two side entrances were added, and the sculptures were removed from the front of the church. The church was returned to the Vilnius Evangelical Reformed Church when Lithuania regained its independence in 1990, and today the church is regaining its original beauty step by step.

‘The Guardian of the City Gates’ is the diploma work of the sculptor Stanislovas Kuzma, who graduated from the Institute of Fine Arts (now the Vilnius Academy of Arts) in 1973. During the Soviet era, it was preferred that graduates create works on themes that were relevant to the communist ideology; despite this, Kuzma managed to defend his idea. The 650th anniversary of Vilnius was a major influence. The location for the sculpture was not chosen by chance – one of the gates of the 16th-century city wall, where guards were always on duty, was located at the intersection of Trakai and Pylimo Streets. The sculpture was identified as a decorative element of the building and named simply ‘The Knight’. When Lithuania regained its independence, the wooden sculpture was replaced by a brass one, and the guard’s shield was decorated with Gediminas Pillars.

The Museum of Samuel Bak is the first and, so far, the only museum in the world dedicated to the work of the famous Litvak painter Samuel Bak; it was opened in Vilnius in 2017. It displays dozens of paintings by Samuel Bak that he donated to Lithuania. His talent was evident in his childhood; he had his first exhibition in the Jewish ghetto in Vilnius in 1942 when he was just nine years old. Miraculously surviving the Holocaust, the artist returned not only to open the museum but also to thank three people for saving his life: the priest Juozas Stakauskas, Sister Maria Mikulska, and the engineer Vladas Žemaitis.

Another colony built on the initiative of Józef Montwiłł is located around the present Aguonų, Šaltinių, and Mindaugo Streets. The colony was built in 1896-1899 and is the first and oldest of the five. Eleven houses were designed for this quarter, but only six were built. The houses were single-storey, elongated, and each had two apartments with different entrances. One of the houses in the Aguonų Street colony (Aguonų g. 13) was occupied by Antanas Smetona, a signatory of the Act of Independence of 16 February and future President of the Republic of Lithuania. His house was not short of gatherings of the intelligentsia. Mykolas Biržiška, another signatory of the Act of Independence of 16 February, also lived in the Aguonų Colony.

The ‘Victoria’ chocolate and candy factory operated in a four-storey residential building at the corner of Šaltinių and Mindaugas Streets from 1897 until World War I. The factory owned by Israel and his eldest son Tobias Bunimovich was one of the largest factories in Vilnius and the northwestern region at the time. The Bunimovich factory’s products were valued not only in the Russian Empire but also in Europe. At various exhibitions (Prague, The Hague, Antwerp, Luxembourg, Brussels), the products produced by ‘Victoria’ were awarded as many as 25 gold medals! In 1914, the Victoria factory employed 800 people. A fire in the factory that year caused considerable damage to the business. The father and son from the Bunimovich family received insurance payments but did not rebuild the factory as WWI was approaching.

You may have noticed that this part of Naujamiestis is planned in a rather boring way – the territory is divided into simple rectangular blocks. The old routes, which are slightly different, add some variety to this plan. One of these is Naugarduko Street, which runs diagonally and seems to upset the whole order. This street was an old road leading to the suburbs. 

As times and street names change, misunderstandings are often inevitable. One of them happened to Naugardukas Street. In Tsarist times, it was called Novogorodskaya, which means ‘New Town’. In the interwar period, the Polish administration somehow renamed it Nowogrodzka, after the city of Naugarduko (Novogrudok – a place of significance in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, now in Belarus). In 1939, when Vilnius was regained, the street’s name was directly translated from Polish as Naugarduko Street. During the Soviet era, it became Partizan Street. When we regained our independence, there was an opportunity to correct this historical mistake and return to the original name, but the street was automatically returned to the name Naugardukas again.

Since 2004, Vilnius has been decorated with white angels, which can be found in all kinds of places. Here’s one perched on a building on Algirdo Street. These angels are by Vaidas Ramoška. 

In 2004, Vilnius City Council asked the sculptor to create something that would divert the anger of vandalism-prone citizens away from the constant destruction of telephone booths, public transport stops, and other city assets. The provocatively named sculpture ‘Blue Goat’, made of metal structures and plaster, appeared on Gediminas Avenue. As expected, it was destroyed a few days later. Then the sculptor V. Ramoška came up with the idea of creating something that the citizens of the city would not dare to hurt – angels. This is how a new symbol of Vilnius was born, which can be found not only in Lithuania but also in many countries – and even in the Himalayas.

In 1931, a monument dedicated to the philanthropist, banker, and public figure – Józef Montwiłł – was unveiled in the square between Trakų and Pranciškonų Streets. The sculpture was created by Bolesław Bałzukewicz. On a light-coloured granite pedestal, the bronze figure of Józef Montwiłł sits contemplating in a chair; the rather static figure stands 1.7 m high.

Montwiłł is best known as a supporter of construction, as well as scientific and artistic institutions and societies, having founded and supported more than 20 public organisations: orphanages, hostels, dispensaries for the poor, etc. He also financially supported the Vilnius Society of Friends of Science, the Polish Amateur Art Society’ Lutnia’ (‘The Lute’), and other similar organisations. 

The Catholic St. Vaitiekus (Vojtech) Bookshop, headed by Leonas Žynda, was established on the site of V. Savickis’s pharmacy’ Po saule’, which was open between the wars. Bolesław, the son of the bookshop owner, was friends with Edward Kuczynski, a graphic artist who had recently graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the University of St. Stephen Batory and a pupil of the painter Ferdynand Ruszczyc. In 1936, the latter painted the façade of the building using a rare Renaissance sgraffito technique. The entire painting consisted of nine illustrations in the form of a panel. The main panel indicated the name of the bookshop, while the other eight were thematic. On either side of the inscription ‘St. Vaitiekaus Bookstore’, the printmaker painted the symbol of the bookstore – an open book against the sun. The exterior of the bookshop was recognised the following year as a state-protected work of art. 

The building that today houses the Ministry of National Defence was conceived by Elena Nijolė Bučiūtė (designer of the National Opera and Ballet Theatre). The design work took 20 years (1977-1997). Not only did the systems change, but also the architectural styles – from modernism to postmodernism. After the foundations of four, Gothic-style houses were discovered at 4 metres underground, the essence of the project had to be fundamentally changed. The architect decided to replicate the forms of the houses that had stood there in the building she was designing. The fourth Gothic house would have narrowed Totorių Street, so the architect simply suspended its façade in the air. Such a hanging façade is a true postmodern gem in Vilnius architecture.

In 2021, the corner of the reconstructed building at Liejyklos g. 8 was decorated with Jonas Gencevičius’s sculpture ‘Vilnietė’. Vilnius is often referred to as a Baroque city, so the figure of the Vilnius woman is decorated with Baroque ornaments and seems to blend in with it. It seems that in just a moment, this Vilnius woman will be detached from her base. If you look closely, you can see the initials of the artist on the woman’s left leg.

The building that today houses the ‘Kempinski Hotel Cathedral Square’ was originally built in 1900 to house the Treasury Palace of the Vilnius Governorate during the Tsarist era. Later, the New York Hotel was built in another wing of the building. From 1948, it was the city’s central telegraph office. In 2006, the building was renovated, and in 2012, the five-star ‘Kempinski’ hotel opened its doors here.

In 1973, on the occasion of the 650th anniversary of the commemoration of the city of Vilnius, a memorial stone with the inscription ‘Vilnius 1323-1973’ was unveiled in Cathedral (then Gediminas) Square. During this jubilee year, a number of sculptures ‘sprouted’ in Vilnius: ‘Lithuanian Ballad’ by V. Vildžiūnas on the other side of the Cathedral, S. Kuzma’s ‘Guardian of the City Gates’ on Trakai Street, and ‘The Annalist’ by V. Krutinis on Stiklių Street. The birch tree that grew next to the stone for 60 years was replaced by a red oak in November 2020. 

This palace has been mentioned in history since the 17th century. It is known that the first owner of the palace was Vladislovas Antanas Kirdiejus, whose death led to a number of changes of ownership, as did the building itself. In the 18th century, the palace was devastated and, for a while, had no owners at all, until it was handed over to Vilnius University at the end of the 18th century. The building was converted into apartments for professors, and an impressive botanical garden was established on the grounds. In 1832, after the closure of the University and the botanical garden, the building was occupied by soldiers and generals. In the interwar period, it was the site of the ‘Victoria’ bar and canteen. During the Soviet era, the palace was used for social activities, with several institutions being established there, such as the Song Festival Committee, the Society of People’s Artists, and others. From 1993-1997, ‘Barbora’, one of the first squats in Lithuania, was located here.

The monument to Adam Mickiewicz, the work by the sculptor Gediminas Jokūbonis, was erected and unveiled in 1984. The poet is depicted contemplatively leaning against a low horizontal column, the two parts of which symbolise his life in his homeland and in exile and his belonging to the Lithuanian and Polish cultures. 

In 1996, parts of the monument to Mickiewicz, begun between the wars and unfinished, were added to the monument by Henrikas Kuna in the form of panels depicting scenes from the work ‘Lamentations’.

On 23 August 1987, several thousand people gathered at the Adam Mickiewicz monument to condemn the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact. This rally marked the beginning of the rebirth of Lithuania.

The most famous symbol of Užupis is probably the Angel of Užupis. However, the bronze mermaid, also known as the Užupis Mermaid, is an equally popular symbol of Užupis. She ‘sits’ in an alcove on the Vilnia embankment in front of the terrace of the Užupis café. It was conceived in 2002 by sculptor Romas Vilčiauskas (who also created the Užupis Angel). In 2004, the rising water of the Vilnia River washed away the mermaid, but divers found her and returned her safely. It is said that she is the one who attracts people from all over the world to Užupis. And those who cannot resist her spell stay in Užupis forever. So, be careful!

In 2011, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the birth of Czesław Miłosz (1911-2004), the Vilnius City Council named the stairs, which offer a magnificent panorama of the Užupis district of Vilnius, after Czesław Miłosz. The sculptor Jonas Gencevičius came up with the original idea of carving the poet’s poems in Lithuanian and Polish on the stairs. The idea was implemented in September 2016. The location was chosen for a reason – Bokšto Street was the first place where the poet settled with his parents when they came to Vilnius. The poet, novelist and essayist Czesław Miłosz was the first Lithuanian winner of the prize. 

A defensive wall surrounded the city of Vilnius in the early 16th century. Around 100 years later, in the early 17th century, another defensive structure, the Bastion, was built next to the Subačius Gate. It consists of a tower, a horseshoe part for artillery and a tunnel connecting them. In the second half of the 17th century, after the war with Moscow, the Bastion lost its strategic importance and was abandoned. Its territory was turned into an urban rubbish dump, and the former moats and walls were filled in. In the second half of the 20th century, the fortress was excavated, rebuilt and turned into a museum. Urban legends say that a mythical creature, the basilisk, still lives in the dungeons of the Bastion today.

On 23 November 2018, the birthday of Jonas Basanavičius, a monument to the signatory of the Lithuanian Independence Act was unveiled. The sculpture was created by Gediminas Piekuras. The Grand Vilnius Seimas met in the present-day Lithuanian National Philharmonic on 4-5 December 1905. Basanavičius was the author of the idea of the Lithuanian Congress in Vilnius and the main organiser of the Congress. The Great Vilnius Seimas, declaring the continuity of the Lithuanian political nation, gave birth to the modern Lithuanian state and our modern parliamentary system. This square was also named after Jonas Basanavičius.

This church is the oldest Baroque church in Vilnius. It was built in 1604 on the initiative of the Jesuit Order when King Casimir was declared a saint. According to stories, as many as 700 men brought the cornerstone for this church from Antakalnis. This church has seen more than that. During the 1794 uprising, Jakub Jasiński had more than a thousand Russian prisoners imprisoned there. It has also been a grain warehouse (from 1812), the main Orthodox Church of St. Nicolas (from 1864), a Lutheran house of worship (from 1915), and the Museum of Atheism (from 1966). In 1988, it was finally returned to the congregation to be used by the faithful for its original purpose.

The sculpture ‘Metraštininkas’ (‘The Annalist’) by Vaclovas Krutinis commemorates Francysk Skaryna, the pioneer of printing in Lithuania, and recalls the Mamoničiai printing house in the adjacent house. The sculpture was the diploma work of V. Krutinis, a student of the Art Institute. At the time, who the figure was dedicated to was shrouded in mystery – it was simply called ‘Metraštininkas’. The monument was erected in 1973 without the permission of the authorities by stating that the sculpture was temporary. Some time has passed since that year, which was the 650th anniversary of Vilnius! So, some sculptures (like Kuzma’s ‘Guardian of the City Gates’) have managed to evade strict censorship and have survived to this day.